Google Voice apps start returning to the App Store

After about a year in exile, it looks like the Google Voice apps are starting to return to Apple’s iOS ecosystem. This afternoon Apple approved GV Connect, a Google Voice client which is now available for purchase from the App Store for $2.99.

Google Voice is a service which lets you make and receive phone calls over the internet. What’s more, you can use Google Voice to connect multiple phone numbers. You can give out your Google Voice number and when people call, it can ring your home, work, and cellphone numbers simultaneously, if that’s your cup of tea. Or you can set hours so that your work line will ring when you’re in the office, and not when you’re at home.

A few other things that make Google Voice special are support for sending free SMS messages and receiving kind of crappy automated transcripts of your voicemails so you can read your voicemail when you don’t have time to listen to it.

GV Connect supports all of those features, letting you make calls, send text messages, and access your Google Voice voicemail on an iPhone.

GV Connect probably won’t be alone in the App Store for long. The maker of GV Mobile + has also submitted his app for approval. Update: GV Mobile + has also been approved. It’s now available for download from the App Store.